'Pacific Rim' to Be Guillermo del Toro's First PG-Rated Film?

For roughly the past year, we’ve heard that Guillermo del Toro’s “giant monsters vs. robots” movie Pacific Rim was going to be rated PG-13. Some fans – who were hoping for the full R-rated sci-fi experience – were disappointed by the news. Today’s bit might leave them even a little more bummed out.

FEARnet caught up with screenwriters Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan, who recently spent time working as script doctors for Travis Beachem’s Pacific Rim screenplay. Needless to say, the horror duo is excited about what del Toro is bringing to the screen. Melton’s already assuring potential viewers that the film will “kick major ass,” and has made the bold prediction that it will be the hit of this summer’s Comic-Con if del Toro decides to show the footage he’s been working on. “It's gonna rule Hall H when Guillermo, the king of geeks, comes out and shows some of the stuff he's shot. People are gonna be blown away.”

We expect that kind of hype from Melton and Dunstan – after all, they worked on the script. However, the most interesting quote in the piece is tucked away near the end. Melton, still excited about Pacific Rim and working with del Toro, says the following:

“This is a PG movie. Most of his [del Toro’s] stuff is pretty edgy, for the most part. Nothing below PG-13 that I can think of. So this is his sort of four-quadrant movie. But it's got all the traits of a Guillermo movie, with the monsters and the younger characters and the things that go bump in the night… It's pretty great." For those not in the know, a "four-quadrant movie" is one which appeals to all four major demographic "quadrants" of the moviegoing audience: both male and female, over and under 25 years old, according to Wikipedia.

Does this mean that Pacific Rim is now aiming for an even more family-friendly PG rating? We’re not sure, but Melton’s statement seems to indicate that Pacific Rim is shaping up to be the director’s first PG title. We would have assumed he was using “PG” as a catch-all for both ratings, but then he goes on to clarify that del Toro has never made a film with a rating lower than PG-13 before – making it seem like Pacific Rim is set to venture into new territory for the filmmaker. It’s an odd phrase.

Ultimately, the MPAA will decide what rating Pacific Rim receives when they screen it prior to release. That being said, we’d be a little disappointed if the film came in with a straight PG mark. A rating has no real correlation to a film’s quality, but when you hear about giant monsters fighting giant robots, there are certain violent expectations that come to mind – and it’s hard to see those expectations being met within the parameters of a PG rating.

We’ll have to wait and see what classification Pacific Rim eventually earns. One thing is for sure: we expect that it will be entertaining regardless of what rating it receives. After all, del Toro rarely disappoints.

Expect more on Pacific Rim as we get closer to its 2013 release date.

Ed Note: We've reached out to Patrick Melton for clear clarification on his quote and will report back his response when we receive it.

Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.